ARE NOW OPEN
Call for Entries for the Third EditionNairobi, 30th August, 2017 – The African Media Initiative is pleased to invite entries to the Third Edition of the ZIMEO Excellence in Media Awards. The contest is open to professional journalists in Africa reporting or writing for print, radio, TV and digital platforms and will recognize journalism excellence in the following categories:

1.

Urban journalism
This award will go to the journalist who demonstrates high quality urban media reporting and analysis. The judges will be looking for articles that provide ground-breaking ideas on pressing issues facing African cities

2.

The Maritime economy
This award will go to the journalist whose articles have made a considerable contribution to raising public awareness of a maritime issue as a key driver of economic development.

3.

Science and Technology This award will recognize journalists who best capture the impact of new technologies, the science behind them and efforts across the continent to harness them for positive change in Africa.

4.

Agriculture and food security This award will go to a journalist who has consistently covered the agriculture sector and demonstrated an above-average understanding of the issues involved. The judges will be looking out for evidence of how well the articles interrogate the farmers’ plight, explain policy frameworks and government support, and the extent to which all that affects productivity, value addition, and food security.

5.

Peace and security This award will recognize the journalist who has made the most contribution to our understanding of the underlying causes of conflict, insecurity and political instability, and to a better appreciation of mechanisms, systems and policies that sustain peace and security.

6.

Energy and infrastructure The award will recognize the journalist who has done the most to help society understand the politics and economics of energy and infrastructure as key drivers of a nation’s development.

7.

Extractive industries If the wealth of the African sub-soil were transformed into riches for all who live above ground, the continent would be comparable to the biblical land of milk and honey. More often than not, natural resources have been the harbinger of political rivalry, war and destruction than the agency of construction, development and progress. This award will go to the journalist whose articles best advance society’s education and understanding of the governance of the extractive industry and the politics of natural resources management.

8.

Media and digital journalism/data journalism award “Digital first” is the current mantra of many news operations, which suggests that print is taking a back seat. What strategies are editors applying to stay ahead of the game and who are the most innovative? How is this changing the ways news is covered and how are journalists adding value to that process? This award will recognize work that brings together data, visualization and story-telling to produce innovate journalism.

9.

Conservation and Climate Change This award will recognize excellence in reporting that raises public awareness about the impact of climate change while at the same time enhancing society’s understanding of all round efforts for climate action in Africa.

10.

Sustainable Development Goals reporting From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals; this is the current mantra of development institutions. This award seeks to recognize and applaud reportage that has consistently, diligently and accurately focused its resources on the MDGs/SDGs narrative with the objective of directing society’s attention to the ultimate prize – a brighter future.

11.

Animal resources and fisheries/biotechnology reporting This award will recognize the journalist who has produced agenda-shaping news and information on the application and regulation of modern biotechnology and research in this sector.

12.

African Union Agenda 2063 This award will recognize the journalist who has made the most contribution to deepening citizens’ understanding of the role of the AU and, in particular, the strategies it is employing as a foundation for the improvement of the quality of life on the continent.

Interested journalists are encouraged to present either single stories/articles or thematic packages in the following languages, English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Kiswahili. Our pan African panel of judges will be looking for entries which:

▪

Demonstrate a high quality of reporting/writing in terms of originality, depth, research rigour, research, investigative enterprise, innovativeness, clarity, proper sourcing, accuracy, exhaustive analysis of the context and background and an above average understanding of the subject matter.

▪

Are data-driven and use creative digital tools like mapping, crowdsourcing and visualization to help tell the story.

▪

Communicate the topic in a way that makes the story relevant and engaging to audiences and that contains evidence of its likely social impact or benefit to society.

▪

Provide, where possible, a pan-African perspective.

▪

Are multi-sourced.

▪

The deadline for submission of entries is September 22, 2017 and the winning entries will be awarded during a Media conference to be convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November this year. All entries should be submitted to: zimeoawards@africanmediainitiative.org.

About AMI
AMI is an umbrella organisation that brings media owners together and seeks to find solutions to perennial problems facing the industry such as the lack of financing and solid business models, as well as difficulties in accessing the advertising market or even just good Internet connectivity. The organisation also aims to spur better journalism through various training programmes, including in data and development journalism.

PRESS STATEMENT

AMI, Int’l Human Rights Groups And Press Organizations Make Recommendations on Freedom of Expression in Doha International Conference

Nairobi, 28 July 2017: The African Media Initiative (AMI) was invited to participate in a two-day international Conference on Freedom of Expression in Doha, Qatar. The conference, which was organized by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) of Qatar in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute under the theme “Freedom of Expression: Facing Up to the Threat”, took place on July 24-25, 2017.

AMI’s Chief Executive Office, Eric Chinje, and Senior Advisor Wangethi Mwangi, represented the pan-African media organization as part of 200 participants from around the world.

Recommendations of the International Conference “Freedom of Expression, Facing up to the Threat”

Doha, Qatar 24-25 July 2017
We, representatives of international, regional and national organisations of journalists, human rights and freedom of expression groups meeting at the International Conference in Doha, Qatar on 24-25 July 2017, organised by the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar in co-operation with the International Federation of Journalists and the International Press Institute,Condemn unequivocallythe threats by the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Bahrain, demanding the closing down of Al Jazeera and other media outlets, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.

and

Expressour total solidarity with journalists and other media and ancillary workers at Al Jazeera and other targeted media.

This Conference recommends: ON SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS
Conference recognizes the numerous resolutions adopted in recent years by the UN General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council deploring the impact of attacks against journalists and other media workers on the public’s right to information and freedom of expression, and expressing concern at the chilling effect that such attacks, especially when perpetrated with impunity, have on the media as a whole.

Conference also expressly recognizes that the work of media professionals often places them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence (UN Security Council Resolution 2222 (2015), UN Human Rights Council Resolution 33/2 of 29 September 2016, and UN General Assembly Resolution 70/162 of 17 December 2015 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity). In addition, it has been widely recognized that ensuring accountability for all forms of violence against journalists and other media professionals is a key element in preventing future attacks.

Conference supports the developing of a new binding international instrument dedicated to the safety of journalists, including a specific enforcement mechanism, which would improve the international response to attacks against journalists and the culture of impunity. A Convention on the Safety of Media Workers, potentially negotiated within the UN General Assembly, would present the advantage of systematizing the relevant obligations inferable from multiple legal texts and making them more accessible to decision-makers and law-enforcement authorities and bringing together the applicable human rights and humanitarian law norms, tailoring them to the situation of journalists.

Such a Convention includes, for example, the obligation to protect journalists against attacks on their life, arbitrary arrest, violence and intimidation campaigns, the obligation to protect against forced disappearances and kidnapping (by state agents or private actors), the obligation to carry out effective investigations into alleged interferences and to bring the perpetrators to justice; in the context of armed conflict, the obligation to treat media workers and facilities as civilians (and hence illegitimate targets) and to conduct military operations with due diligence in such a way as to avoid unnecessary risks to journalists reporting on the conflict.

Conference finally believes that current legal provisions should be expanded beyond the obligation to protect journalists against attacks on their life, and include forced disappearances and kidnapping (by state or private actors), arbitrary arrest, intimidation, deportation/refusal of entry, confiscation/damage to property and new forms of violence experienced by journalists during the 2011 Arab Spring, and further develop Human Rights Council resolutions S-2/1 and S-9/1 concerning the attacks on media installations and allowing access as well as safe media corridors in conflict zones.

Conference, therefore, calls on governments:

To recognize all recommendations, covenants, declarations and resolutions promulgated or endorsed by international organisations such as the UN and its agencies such as UNESCO;

To implement forthwith the UN latest plan of action and enhance their working with organisations dedicated to the safety of journalists and media workers;

To acknowledge and accept their obligations to give journalists protection as civilians in situations of conflict;

To strengthen national mechanisms and laws, including criminal laws and overhaul justice system to end impunity and to provide judicial and legislative assistance to prevent serious violations of international humanitarian laws including the targeting of journalists.

It also calls on news organisations to acknowledge their duty of care for all their journalists, in particular news gatherers, staff or freelance and their responsibility to provide hostile environment safety training and equipment whether at time of conflict or not.ON MEDIA FREEDOMS

Believing that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), defined as the freedom “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” along with its corollaries of freedom of information and press freedom, freedom of expression is one of the cornerstones of democracy;

Believing also, as set out by UNESCO, that states have a duty to ensure that legislation designed to address national security and crime concerns does not override source protection laws other than in narrowly defined exceptional circumstances and that states legislate to protect the rights of sources;

Conference calls on governments to recognize the right of media organisations to report information freely and without interference from government and to allow citizens to access information on their own government and institutions in the cause of transparency and accountability.

It also calls on governments to limit their ability to curtail media access and set the limits of reporting and access to information and allow transparent and independent adjudication on decisions relating to publication.

Conference also acknowledges the vital role played by trade unions in supporting freedom of expression for journalists and defending the right of journalists to report on often contentious issues and hold power to account.

Recognising the danger in establishing legal limits on expression, and accepting the risks in allowing states the ability intervene on online information, conference calls on governments and media organisations to work to challenge hate speech, including misogyny, racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and extremism, and to promote the idea that encouraging a plurality of ideas and ideologies is the solution to challenge bigotry and prejudice.

Conference also calls on journalists to respect codes of conduct that demand fairness, accuracy and the need to oppose the scapegoating of minorities and pandering to prejudice and ignorance.

ON INTERNATIONAL WORKERS RIGHTS

Conference recognizes that the freedom of expression and in particular of the media is inextricably linked to the freedom of media workers to carry out their professional role without fear of intimidation or discrimination.

Acknowledging the central role of the International Labour Organization in establishing and implementing global labour standards:

Conference recognizes the vital principles enshrined in the eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization, including (i) Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and (ii) Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

The right to just and favorable conditions of work is contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Recognizing the ability of trade unions to protect and defend the right to freedom of expression through codes of conduct, the setting of professional standards and collective endeavors,

Conference calls on government to honour the provisions of Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to act in compliance with the conventions of the International Labour Organization.

Participants agree to transmit these recommendations to regional and international institutions and to governments,
Participants recommend that all working papers and reports of workshops are considered as official documents and will be published in agreement with the authors.
Finally, participants express their appreciation and thanks to the National Human Rights Committee of QatarCHR for its efforts to organise the Doha conference and call upon it to continue its work with other concerned parties to implement the adopted recommendations.

My task is to help AMI transform the media landscape in Africa – new chair, Aboderin

Who is Mr. Wale Aboderin?

My name is Wale Aboderin, a Nigerian businessman and chairman of PUNCH, Nigeria’s leading newspaper. We publish three print newspapers and two digital newspapers. We also run four major print presses in Nigeria. We have very strong pro-public credentials because of our support for democracy, during the fight against military rule and afterwards, and our campaigns for social justice.

I trained as a commercial pilot at the Burnside-Ott Flying School, Florida, United States. I was appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors in 2012. But I have been involved in the newspaper business for decades. PUNCH was co-founded by my father and he introduced me to the business early. And this experience has helped in fashioning a vision that led to some great changes in the editorial quality, management and its fortunes.

I am also involved in music and sports. I am the founder and owner of Dolphins Basketball Club, a leading African female basketball club, with local and continental honours. I used to be the former chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association and I am a former member of the Nigerian Handball Federation.

How do you feel about your election as the new chair of the African Media Initiative?

I feel humbled and pleased with this new responsibility, although it comes with the challenges of promoting the vision of a fantastic organization whose potential should not be abridged by limited resources. Thank you for inviting me to join the battle for a strengthened media landscape in Africa. I have always succeeded in my ventures. I am here to ensure AMI does not fail its mission of transforming the media landscape in Africa.

What is your vision for the organization?

I have always believed that the biggest resource in any organization is human capital and the biggest investment is human development. My people perish for lack of knowledge, says the Good Book. Since I joined AMI board, I have never regretted being part of this beautiful project. The more I stayed, the more I like the organization’s mandate. It is important that we invest in human capital. Punch has already become too big in Nigeria and little by little we have been looking for an opportunity to go regional and AMI is empowering me to go around these countries and push for the initiatives developed by AMI. These trips will help me to rediscover Africa and see the opportunities on the continent.

My vision, to start with, is to focus on making AMI a better and greater organization. If you have a fine dress, everybody will see the missing button. So, I don’t want to see AMI staff as the missing button. I want you people to be engaged and know that there is something great to be done. The other part of the vision is to partner with others to develop the capacity of journalists and media companies across Africa. PUNCH is celebrated for its integrity and had I not seen the same integrity in the leadership and vision of AMI, I wouldn’t have accepted to be part of the project.

I insist that print publishers can still survive but we can’t just sit back and wait for new readers to emerge. It’s time to ‘reinvent the wheel’.

What do you see as the greatest challenges for African media in the 21st century and what are your thoughts on the future of print media?

Ah! The greatest challenge in this century is digital disruption. The lack of true press freedom is also a big challenge in several places in Africa. But I expect this to become less of a problem as we move forward and the ideals of democracy spread on the continent. For example in Nigeria, PUNCH and other newspapers campaigned against military rule. With democracy, the press is freer although things are not perfect.

The use of mobile phones and other digital devices are growing across Africa. People, especially our teeming population of youth, prefer to get their news from the Internet and social media. My daughters, for example, get their news from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which are also quite popular in Nigeria.

But the future of print in Africa is not as bleak as painted. I always tell my team that a form of growth is still possible. However, as publishers, we would need to moderate our returns on investment expectations. Print publishers shouldn’t expect to be as profitable as they once were. In PUNCH we are exploring cross-media opportunities in a way that would help us to use the newly found strengths of our digital initiatives to help the weaknesses of print. So, African media need to constantly reinvent in order to stay in business and relevant.

Press Statement

Nairobi, 23 June 2017 – Some 50 high-level media practitioners, representatives of electoral bodies and election experts will meet over two days to discuss the ‘Covering of Elections in Africa’. The workshop will be held on July 3- 4 in Nairobi, bringing together 13 countries from both Anglophone and Francophone Africa that are preparing to conduct elections over the next 18 months.

This workshop is a combined effort of the African Media Initiative (AMI) and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). It is also benefiting from the additional support of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

Elections have always been an important feature of the democratic and governance structure in Africa and the last two decades have seen a number of countries on the continent organise multi-party polls. One of the key objectives of the workshop is to bring together the media, representatives of electoral bodies and election experts from both Francophone and Anglophone Africa to discuss in a frank, open and interactive manner. The discussion will focus on what can be done to better understand elections and, in the process; help consolidate the quality of reporting.

Speaking about the workshop, Eric Chinje, CEO of AMI, said “the two-day deliberations will offer a unique forum for sharing experiences and expertise, and gaining valuable knowledge from professionals who have been closely involved in the running and coverage of elections.” Chinje hopes that this cross-fertilization of ideas will help towards the development of a body of knowledge that can be shared across the continent.

Tidiane Dioh, Coordinator of the Media Programme at OIF, is convinced that “elections are much more than casting one’s vote”. According to him, “the voter must have access to a whole array of relevant information concerning the electoral process and such a role and responsibility remains the purview of a free, independent and professional media”.

The African Media Initiative (AMI) is a pan-African organization that seeks to strengthen the continent’s private and independent media sector from an owner and operator perspective to promote democratic governance, social development and economic growth. It does so through a set of strategic activities aimed at transforming the media and communications landscape on the continent. AMI’s overall goal is to promote the development of pluralistic media as a necessary and critical ingredient of democratic governance, as well as economic and human development in Africa.

About OIF

The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970 and has its head office in Paris. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers. OIF organises political activities and actions of multilateral cooperation that benefits people living in the five continents.

About IDEA
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. International IDEA’s mission is to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics. Composed of thirty member states, International IDEA works across four key impact areas, notably: electoral processes; political parties representation & participation; constitution-building and democracy and development. It also addresses the important issues of gender, diversity, and conflict and security as they relate to democracy. From its base in Addis Ababa, the Africa and West Asia (AWA) programme of International IDEA collaborates closely with both national actors and regional organizations and has a footprint in over 40 countries. Priorities include constitutionalism, inter-party dialogue, electoral integrity, natural resource governance, youth participation and women’s representation.

PRESS RELEASE

The African Media initiative announces the election of a new Board Chair

Nairobi, 19 June 2017 — The Board of AMI has elected Mr. Wale Aboderin as the new Chair of the organization. He will be taking over from the maiden chair, Mr. Trevor Ncube, Executive Vice-chairman of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian, who has steered the organization since its inception in 2008. The organization thanks Mr. Ncube, and his early co-Chair, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, for the valuable support and guidance of AMI during its formative years.

Mr. Wale Aboderin, a Nigerian businessman is the Chairman of PUNCH, Nigeria’s leading newspaper group headquartered in Lagos. PUNCH publishes three print and two digital newspapers, and runs four major print presses across Nigeria.

Mr. Aboderin trained as a commercial pilot at the Burnside-Ott Flying School, Florida, United States. He was appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors in 2012. His tenure has witnessed groundbreaking changes in the editorial quality, management and fortunes of PUNCH, including a hugely successful redesign, the launch of several digital initiatives and the newspaper’s win of several local and international awards.

A popular sports enthusiast in Nigeria, Mr. Aboderin is the founder and owner of Dolphins Basketball Club, a leading African female basketball club, with local and continental honours. He is a former chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association and a former member of the Nigerian Handball Federation.

“I thankfully accept this role and I believe AMI should help African media bridge the communication gap between policymakers and the citizens to allow for a two-way feedback engagement,” Mr Aboderin said. “During my tenure I will champion the AMI cause everywhere and ensure that Africans stop being suspicious about homegrown initiatives and support this organization.”

Mr Eric Chinje, CEO of the African Media Initiative, stated: “With more than two decades of direct involvement in media, Mr Wale brings a wealth of experience to the organization. He will surely help AMI refocus its work around the four major pillars of activity around which a new strategy is being developed: strengthening media capacity (thematic specialization); content development and promotion; research; and performance incentives for media professionals.”

About AMI
The African Media Initiative (AMI) is a pan-African organization that seeks to strengthen the continent’s private and independent media sector with a view to promoting democratic governance, social development and economic growth. It does so through a set of strategic activities aimed at transforming the media and communications landscape on the continent. AMI’s overall goal is to promote the development of pluralistic media as a necessary and critical ingredient of democratic governance, as well as economic and human development in Africa.

All across the length and breadth of Africa, people make decisions, big and small, every day. To do this, they have to rely on the best information that is publicly available. But often the information in the mainstream media, public discussions and social media is partial, misleading or just plain wrong. Misleading claims about minority populations, replayed in the traditional and social media, have led to everything from xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2015 to the Rwandan genocide of 1994. False media reports into health problems, such as polio, and supposed cures for diseases from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, have caused unnecessary sickness and death across the continent.

It was to start to tackle this problem that the continent’s first independent fact-checking website, www.africacheck.org, was set up in partnership with the Journalism Department of University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa, in 2012, with a French-language version set up in partnership with the EJICOM journalism school in Dakar, Senegal, in 2015.

The role of Africa Check in promoting fact-checking journalism was the topic of a debate that took place on 19 October at the Institute of Advanced Studies run by the University of Westminster in London. Dr Winston Mano, Director of the Africa Media Centre, and Peter Cunliffe-Jones, Executive Director of Africa Check discussed the impact that the misrepresentations that take place have on the continent and what journalists around Africa can do to tackle this. Cunliffe-Jones explained the way Africa Check is seeking partners around Africa interesting in spreading this vital new form of journalism. He also discussed the growth in interest in the African Fact-Checking Awards which Africa Check now runs, and which saw record entries this year. French- and English-language winners of the awards are due to be announced at AMI’s Reporting Africa conference in Nairobi on 8 December.